The present invention is an improvement to the locking joint mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,767, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
As discussed in the incorporated patent, angularly adjustable, releasably locakable ball joints are used in a variety of assemblies. Such assemblies include umbrellas as well as other jointed items. However, these joint mechanisms are also useful in the field of prosthetics. As discussed in the incorporated patent, it is important for the joint to securely lock two elements together, yet be expeditiously angularly adjustable and releasable when desired.
The locking joint mechanism disclosed in the incorporated patent quite effectively secures the parts against pitch and/or yaw movements between the parts jointed by the mechanism. The inventor has found that the patented joint mechanism can be improved by further securing the joint mechanism against roll movements between the parts joined thereby. This will further improve its performance in many applications, including prosthetics.
Therefore, there is a need to improve the joint mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,767 by further securing the mechanism against roll movements between the parts joined by the joint mechanism.
Still further, while the joint mechanism disclosed in the incorporated patent provides a wide range of adjustments, the inventor has also found that such a joint mechanism can be further improved by providing still greater range of adjustments which is also capable of even finer adjustment steps whereby the relative orientation between the parts joined by the mechanism can be adjusted in extremely fine steps over a wide range.
Therefore, there is a need to improve the joint mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,767 by providing an ability to adjust the relative orientation between the parts joined by the mechanism over a wide range yet in fine incremental steps.